Edmundo González, Venezuela’s Opposition Leader, Says He Was Forced to Sign Letter Recognizing Maduro

Venezuela’s opposition leader, Edmundo González, said in a video address from exile on Wednesday that the country’s autocratic government had forced him to sign a letter recognizing President Nicolás Maduro as the winner of the disputed July election.

Mr. González said that he signed the document just before fleeing to Spain this month and that he was told by high-ranking Venezuelan officials that his signature was required if he wanted to leave the country.

While the letter holds no legal weight outside Venezuela, it is seen as part of an effort by the government of Mr. Maduro to paint Mr. González as a weak leader ready to abandon his country and principles to save himself. The government has used similar narratives to insult other opposition leaders, including Leopoldo López, now in Spain, and Juan Guaidó, now in the United States, calling them cowards for fleeing.

Analysts and opposition activists say the tactic is part of a larger pattern in Venezuela in which the government coerces members of the opposition to make statements that incriminate them or undermine their movement. In recent months, the authorities have detained lesser-known activists who have then appeared in video confessions published by the government, often claiming to have plotted against Mr. Maduro.

On Wednesday morning, a local news outlet reported that, while in Venezuela, Mr. González had signed a document recognizing a Supreme Court ruling from last month that affirmed Mr. Maduro’s victory in the July 28 election.

Hours later, in a video address from Spain, Mr. González said that the letter was “absolutely null” and that he had signed it under duress. He described “very intense hours of coercion, blackmail and pressure” that led him to sign the document.